查 (chá) is a Chinese character meaning “to check”. It is written from 木 (tree; wood) and 旦 (daybreak; dawn (the sun 日 above the horizon line 一)), one above the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to check”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
木 + 旦
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: modern-glyph decomposition verified against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke data (木 4 + 旦 5 = 9 strokes)
Memory aid
A tree (木) standing over the dawn (旦) — at first light you go out and check the orchard tree by tree.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 检查jiǎn cháto inspect; to examine; a check-up查 = cháHSK 3
- 调查diào cháto investigate; to survey; an investigation查 = cháHSK 4
Go deeper
All readings
to check
to check; to examine; to investigate; to look up (in a dictionary or list)
仔细看、了解情况；也指在字典或名单里翻找。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 检查jiǎn cháto inspect; to examine; a check-up查 = cháHSK 3
- 调查diào cháto investigate; to survey; an investigation查 = cháHSK 4
Rare readings, not taught: zhā
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 查 mean?
查 (chá) means to check; to examine; to investigate; to look up (in a dictionary or list).
How do you pronounce 查?
It is pronounced chá.
What parts is 查 made of?
木 (tree; wood) and 旦 (daybreak; dawn (the sun 日 above the horizon line 一)), one above the other. The recorded source is: modern-glyph decomposition verified against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke data (木 4 + 旦 5 = 9 strokes). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 查 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 查?
木. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 查?
Common ones are 检查 and 调查. The reading of 查 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.